International Medical Corps spices up marketing mail with fake postmarks
Here in the United States, it’s quite common to see no postmarks at all on envelopes mailed with Nonprofit Organization stamps. It’s somewhat less common to see mailer’s postmarks cancelling the stamps.
But fake postmarks on such an envelope? I can’t recall ever seeing such a thing until this week when my daughter pulled this piece of mail from the International Medical Corps from our post office box.
International Medical Corps cover with fake postmarks
As you can see, the “postmarks” are in the right area, but they don’t extend onto the stamp because they’re printed directly on the envelope.
Want to know something even more bizarre? I’m not authority on French postal markings, but the lower of the two “cancellations”—the one with legible letters—appears to be from France’s Bouches-du-Rhône department. I don’t know if the choice of a foreign postmark was designed to avoid trouble with the USPS—it’s not a fake US postmark, after all—or just made at random.
Either way, this is one of the more interesting pieces of marketing mail I’ve seen in a long time.
Como Park Post releases set of three stamps depicting Ukraine flag
Back in 2022, Como Park Post released a 3¢ + $1 semipostal stamp to raise funds for Ukrainian relief organizations. The Minnesota-based local post in February returned to that subject with a series of three stamps depicting Ukraine’s flag. The stamps exist with 3¢, 5¢, and 50¢ face values.
Como Park Post Ukraine stamps
Examples provided by Como Park Post’s operator, Tom B., show there are multiple die varieties.
These new stamps, printed from hand-carved dies, look much more like Como Park Post’s usual productions than the earlier semipostal stamp, and they’re something to look for on your incoming local post mail!
This update contains spaces for all the United States postage stamps issued during the first two months of this year. As usual, the supplement is intended only for collectors using The Philosateleian’s recommended quarterly update track. If you use the annual update track, or if you intend to begin using it, skip this update and wait until my full set of pages for 2026 is available early next year.
Thank you as always for your interest and support!
Pair of 14¢ American Indian stamps show printing variations
It has been a while since I added any variants to my 14¢ American Indian collection, but a couple of recent eBay purchases certainly fit the bill.
The first stamp is from the flat plate printing issued in 1923. The bottom arm in the “E” in “STATES” appears to be broken.
14¢ American Indian stamp with apparent broken “E” in “STATES”Detail of broken “E” in “STATES”
I can’t say that this is a plate flaw because I can imagine this variant being caused by a buildup of ink on the printing plate. Nevertheless, it caught my eye.
The second stamp is from the rotary press printing, and has what appears to be a pair of parallel diagonal scratches or gashes in the vignette to the left of Hollow Horn Bear’s face.
14¢ American Indian stamp with apparent parallel diagonal scratches or gougesDetail of apparent parallel diagonal scratches or gouges
Admittedly, I would probably need to find a second example of this stamp as well to say it’s a constant variety, but once again, it stood out to me when I was browsing.
New Shriners Children’s BRE features stamp-sized lighthouse, bird designs
Last week’s post office box check brought along a business reply envelope in a mailing from Shriners Children’s Hospitals.
The envelope has a pair of stamp-sized designs printed on it, one picturing a lighthouse and the other a blue bird sitting on a branch.
Shriners Children’s business reply envelope
This is hardly the first BRE from Shriners that I’ve received, but I’d not previously seen these particular designs. Never know when something new is going to show up in the mail!
